FIFA Increases World Cup Prize Money to $4oom

World football governing body Fifa has announced that the 32 national teams competing at the 2018 World Cup will share $400m (344 million euros) in prize money, a 12 percent increase from the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

This was disclosed at a meeting of the
FIFA council in Kolkata, where the Zurich-based body also approved a decision to enhance the bidding regulations for the 2026 World Cup and appointed members of the bid evaluation task force.

The purse at the previous World Cup in Brazil was $358m, making it by far the most lucrative sporting event on the globe.

World champions Germany were awarded $35m, while runners-up Argentina took home $25 million.

By contrast, countries who failed to advance beyond the group stage received $8 million for their endeavours.

Earlier this month, FIFA announced measures to ensure there are no bonus rows between individual FAs and players of national sides as was the case in the previous event after the cash was handed out.

The campaigns of a number of African sides, including Ghana and Nigeria, were fraught with threats of boycott after players threatened to quit over ‘appearance fees’ at the Mundial.

Meanwhile, dates for several upcoming FIFA tournaments, including next year’s Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, were also confirmed.

After the meeting, it was decided that the 2018 Club World Cup will run from December 12 to 22, while the Women’s World Cup in 2019 is scheduled to start on June 7 with the final to take place on July 7.

The draw for the 2018 World Cup will take place on December 1, 2017 at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, where the 32 qualified teams will be shared into 8 groups of four.